Your Excellency, Dr. Manmohan Singh
Chairman of the 14th SAARC Summit
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with a sense of happiness
that I am here today to participate in the 14th SAARC
Summit. Each of my visits to India has been a special
occasion. However, this is very special to me since
it is for the first time that I am attending the SAARC
Summit as the President of Sri Lanka. I, therefore,
take this opportunity to convey my sincere appreciation
to the government of India; in particular, to Your Excellency,
the Prime Minister of India as well as the people of
India for the warm welcome and the generous hospitality
that I and my delegation have been accorded and also
for the excellent arrangements made for the Summit.
Mr. Chairman, let me congratulate
you on your election as the Chairman of the fourteenth
SAARC Summit. Your stewardship will no doubt see SAARC
meet the challenges of the twenty first century, based
on the goals set for the third decade of its journey.
Sri Lanka will whole heartedly extend its
cooperation and assistance to the Government of India
in its position as the new Chair of SAARC.
I take this opportunity to pay my
tribute to the outgoing Chair, Bangladesh.
I compliment His Excellency Lyonpo
Chenkyab Dorji, Secretary General of SAARC and his team
for their commitment.
I also take this opportunity to extend
a warm welcome to Afghanistan, the most recent addition
to SAARC membership.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our region is the proud inheritor
of a unique historical tradition. Our common contribution
to religion, art, literature, and moral values is second
to none. But, today, we are a region of contrasts. There
are significant disparities in GDP, income levels, natural
resources, populations etc.
Countries, particularly in Europe,
have come together to form regional blocks despite major
differences in language, culture, religion, income levels
and deep seated historical enmities bringing benefits
to their people that could not have been possible only
a few years ago. I am particularly
concerned that SAARC has not realized its enormous potential
yet.
I strongly believe that SAARC must
become a Union where we will endeavour to achieve our
political and economic pursuits. It is also high time
that we adopt a single currency, which will enhance
the productivity of the region and improve trade without
barriers.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
SAARC, as I see, today stands at
a critical point. A large majority of our peoples are
living in rural environments. We should pause for a
moment to ask ourselves, "What have we really done
for our rural masses?" Whilst we like to have sprawling
cities in our countries, haven't we neglected the
majority of our people, the rural poor? The little we
have done in our rural areas has been small initiatives.
Most villages stand with little or no basic infrastructure.
Our region, home for over one-fifth
of the global population, must focus on the livelihoods
of most of our people. Let us not forget that the entire
SAARC region is still seriously affected by poverty,
although during the last two decades, we have concentrated
on reducing it. However, for most
people in our region life is far from satisfactory.
We, as leaders, therefore, have an enormous responsibility
on our shoulders to deliver now, and not wait for the
future.
We should be able to transform our
people to be the producers for the world given the diversity
and the rich soils of our region. I request this august
forum, to adopt a resolution to work with dedication
and commitment to uplift the quality of our people in
the rural areas.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am a strong believer of practicality.
While endorsing and fully subscribing to the values
of SAARC, we badly need to be action-oriented rather
than dependent on rhetoric. Merely saying good things
about each other and ignoring the reality will take
us nowhere. Therefore, all what we have endorsed over
the years, must without any further delay, be transformed
into action.
Promotion of intra-regional trade
is important to realize the goals enshrined in the SAARC
Charter to improve the image of the region as viable
economic powerhouse. We must have a region-centric approach
to make the SAFTA work in a real sense and give it effective
force. I believe that a
sincere commitment and a strict timetable to implement
the SAFTA will lead to whole of South Asia becoming
one massive region for enhancement of trade.
Coincidentally, year 2007 has been
named the "South Asia Year of Tourism". Tourism
is one of the most lucrative trades that has not been
fully tapped and developed systematically in our region.
Our governments need to find new avenues to develop
inter-regional and intra-regional tourism in a
sustainable and eco-friendly manner. More intra-regional
travel will promote people to people contact we have
advocated for so long.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Deviating from economic issues, I
wish to touch upon the question of human rights in the
region - an issue that is close to my heart and which
has been a critical motivating force in my political
career. Human rights have been a part and parcel of
the great cultural tradition of the sub-continent for
millennia. The edicts of Emperor Asoka scattered around
the sub-continent are an ample testimony to that.
Guided by the principles of our great
religions, we have respected the rights of our fellow
human beings, and it has not been necessary for us to
wait for the calamity of global wars or the deaths of
millions due to misguided philosophies to recognize
their value. We, in our region, will continue to protect
and advance human rights, including economic rights,
despite having to struggle with differences and poverty
left behind by centuries of colonial domination.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Speaking of terrorism, no country
could sustain itself and flourish without addressing
the need to maintain security and no country could afford
to limit their resolve to the eradication of terrorism
to a mere subset of national security. Terrorism anywhere
is terrorism and is a global menace. Unless we act collectively
as a region, trans-border terrorist groups will find
safe havens in other parts of the region. Modern day
terrorists operate in a multi-dimensional fashion. They
operate politically, militarily, financially and ideologically.
Therefore, our effort to curb this
menace should also be multi-pronged and sustained and
far reaching, and must include their sources of sustenance.
The recent air attack at Katunayake by the LTTE must
attract attention of all of us to the fact that our
region as a whole is not safe from the
barbaric terrorist groups. I wish to appeal therefore
to this august forum to work jointly on a counter terrorism
strategy for our entire region, to defeat terrorism.
My government has placed great emphasis
on eradicating terrorism and making Sri Lanka a safe
place for our people. It is not lost on us, however,
that terrorism, whilst needs to be suppressed, also
has to be grappled with, on a political platform.
Mr. Chairman, I am very much in agreement
with your proposal to establish a South Asian university.
This university need not be confined to one country.
We need to ensure that leaning is borderless and that
any student in any of our countries could benefit out
of this unique initiative.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The time has come to move away from
'fancy rhetoric' and give way for action and relentless
effort in our resolve to achieve the collective aspirations
of all of us.
In conclusion, may I therefore be
permitted to quote a great son of the region, Emperor
Asoka, "May my sons, grandsons, and great grandsons
strive for the welfare of all mankind. But this is difficult
without great and sincere effort".
May the Noble Triple Gem Bless you
all!
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